2. Article 33
The Republic guarantees the freedom of the arts and
sciences, which may be freely taught.
3. Article 33
of Italian Constitution lays down that the State is obliged to provide a
State-school system accessible to all young people,
• providing opportunities
commensurate with their
aspirations, regardless of
economic status and social
situation, such as ethnic or
linguistic background.
• The Freedom of teaching is a
principle established by the
Constitution of the Italian
Republic.
• Teachers are free to choose
textbooks and teaching methods
4. Article 34
Capableand deserving pupils,
including thoselacking financial
resources, havetheright to attain
thehighest levelsof education.
TheRepublic rendersthisright
effectivethrough scholarships,
allowancesto familiesand other
benefits, which shall beassigned
through competitive
examinations
Schoolsareopen to everyone.
Primary education, given for at least eight years, is
compulsory and freeof tuition.
5. The Ministry of Education, Universities and Research
Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca
is responsible for administration of state schools in Italy
MIUR
is responsible for the general administration at National level, appointing the decentralised
school policy to Regional and Provincial Offices
Each School
prepares a Piano dell'Offerta Formativa (POF),
a plan that includes the philosophy, the mission, and the goals of the school.
The POF is devised by the Teacher Council and
it is available to the public and given to students and their family on enrolment
Knowledge and skills are indicated for each subject.
The school will help pupils to transform them into personal competencies.
6. As far as Teachers’ Life.......
In Italy teachers are mainly civil servants, recruited by competitive examination
Access to permanent teaching staff is subject to specific teacher training offered by the universities
Teachers who want to specialise in support to disabled pupils receive a specific additional training
Temporary teachers
Recruitment of teachers for temporary position, is done by the local education authority or by
the headmaster on the basis of lists of candidates in possession of the qualifications
Permanent and Temporary staff have the same rights and duties
7. Trial Period
For newly hired teacher staff there is a school year trial period including an additional training course
The headmaster appoints a tutor for each teacher of his/her school
At the end of the year the teacher writes a report about the exeperience done and a
committee for the evaluation confirms his/her admission in permanent staff
The Collegio dei Docenti (Teacher Council)
is made up of the permanent and temporary teachers of the school and is chaired by the
Dirigente Scolastico (School Manager since 1998 )
It makes decisions regarding teaching and learning on the basis of general objectives
defined by the Consiglio di Istituto
8. Organisation and Structure
The school year is made up of at least 200 days of attendance
It starts in September and ends in June
Schools open five or six days a week, full day or half day, depending on the institution
Compulsory annual teaching hours amounts to about 900 hours and is subdivided into
33 teaching weeks.
The basics of the education system in Italy for children in the Italian school system
includes all the stages from creche to pre-primary, primary and secondary
education and international schooling
Education in Italy is compulsory from 6 to 16 years of age
Nursery School (scuola dell’infanzia)
Age 3-5
Primary School (scuola primaria)
Age 6-11
Lower Secondary School (scuola media)
(Age 11-14 )
Upper Secondary School
(scuola secondaria di superiore)
Age 14-19
University
(università)
9. Key Stages and
Exams
Since 2004 pupils no longer take a leaving exam at the Primary School . At the age
of eleven they begin their Secondary education
At the end of the third year, students sit a written exam in the subjects of Italian, mathematics, science
and a foreign language. There is an oral examination of the other subjects. Successful students are
awarded the Licenza di Scuola Media. They then move onto the Upper Secondary School
After completing Upper Secondary School, students must pass another exam in
order to receive their Esame di Stato Diploma. Once they have their diplomas,
students can either begin their careers in their professions or move have access to
further education
A typical Italian student is 19 when he or she enters university,
while in the UK and other countries, 18 is the more common age.
10. Teenagers
The secondary school situation varies, since there are several types of schools differentiated by subjects and
activities. The main division is between the Liceo, the Istituto Tecnico and the Istituto Professionale
• Liceo Classico features Latin, Ancient Greek, Italian, history and philosophy
• Liceo Linguistico puts emphasis on modern foreign languages learning and the languages usually taught
are English, French, Spanish and German – although recently Russian, Arabic and Chinese have been
introduced as well
• Liceo delle Scienze Umane where the emphasis is more on relational, behavioural, educational and
juridical topics, such as pedagogy, anthropology, psychology, sociology, law, political economy and social
research
• Liceo Scientifico is more oriented towards mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, Earth science and
computer science and is also focused on drawing and art history
• Liceo Artistico is oriented toward arts teaching
• Liceo Musicale e Coreutico, the former specialises in music and teaches students to play an instrument,
the latter specialises in dance and choreography
• The Istituto Tecnico is more oriented toward practical subjects, such as jurisdiction, accountancy, tourism,
metalworking, electronics, chemical industry, biotechnology, visual communication, fashion and food
industry, construction management and geotechnics.
• The Istituto Professionale offers a form of secondary education oriented towards practical subjects and
enables the students to start searching for a job as soon as they have completed their studies
• The Italian school system also features the Scuola serale (evening school), aimed at adults and working
students